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Family
Marriage: Children:
  1. Jack Hall Dickenson: Birth: 22 JUN 1917 in Sumner, Pierce Co., Washington. Death: 7 MAR 2015 in Albany, Linn Co., Oregon

  2. William Bonney Dickenson: Birth: 1 DEC 1919 in San Francisco, California. Death: 4 MAR 1924 in San Francisco, California

  3. Bonney Marie Dickenson: Birth: 17 MAY 1921 in San Francisco, California. Death: 11 DEC 2007 in Lakeport, Lake Co., California

  4. Robert Samuel Dickenson: Birth: 18 FEB 1923 in San Francisco, California. Death: 19 JUN 2001 in Santa Rosa, Sonoma Co., California

  5. Charles Richard Dickenson: Birth: 4 MAY 1928 in San Francisco, California. Death: 19 AUG 1999 in Belmont, San Mateo Co., California

  6. Person Not Viewable


Sources
1. Title:   Return of Marriage Pierce Co., WA - License No. 20472

Notes
a. Note:   Charles Leslie Dickenson was born in Sumner, Pierce Co., Washington on December 6, 1888. Les, as he was known, began working in the candy business when he was 16 years old. He went to work at what was then Tacoma Biscuit and Candy Company. Years later it became Nabisco. He married Emily Marie Hall in Tacoma, Pierce Co., Washington, on October 22, 1916. Emily worked in a five-and-dime store, maybe Woolworth's, at $2.50 for a 44 hour week. At one time Les was shop foreman for $20 a week, which was big money in those days.
  After moving to San Francisco, Leslie Dickenson first had a candy factory in the basement of the old Alcazar Theater. His first candy store was on Market St. across from the Examiner building. The building later was a shoe store. The first factory was run by his brother Chester Dickenson.
  Leslie Dickenson and Jack Dorsey started DORSEY & DICKENSON confectionery in San Francisco about 1922 but there was still DICKENSON CONFECTIONERY until at least 1924. Their first store was on Turk St. between Fillmore and Webster. They used the name DORSEY & DICKENSON until about 1926. By 1927 the firm became DIXON DIXIE with 7 stores. The stores were next to theaters - the Harding, the Irving, the Castro, the Parkside and one in Oakland and one a block or so from the Haight Theater at Haight & Fillmore. The Taraval St. store (next to the Parkside Theater) was the last one opened in 1929.
  Sometime later, the name was changed to DIXIE DIXSON'S. Leslie left the partnership in 1934 and started a new business under the name DICKENSON'S FINER CANDIES on Balboa St., between 41st and 42nd in San Francisco. Leslie got two stores in the deal; Haight & Fillmore and 19th and Taraval next to the Parkside. His eldest son, Jack, started working there in 1934 and also put some time in working at the Haight St. store.
  Chioda Candy Company in Oakland absorbed the company but didn't use the DIXIE DIXSON name - only the factory since they were manufacturers of "hard candies" exclusively. When Leslie closed his factory on Balboa St., he sold it to someone, but had to take it back when he wasn't getting paid. He then closed it and sold the equipment to a candy making equipment brokerage.
  Les and Emily had only been married a few months and Emily was pregnant with their first child when Les was hurt in a motorcycle accident. He was about 20 years old. He was riding on his motorcycle, and came up to a stop at a corner. A big dump truck came up behind him. The driver was going to make a stop but didn't see Les on the motorcycle in front of him. He ran into Les, pinning his leg between the ground and the motorcycle. They took bone from some other area to replace the bone in his leg. After months in the hospital, he was sent home for recuperation. He always said that none of his kids could ride bicycles or motorcycles, but in later years Jack bought a motorcycle anyway, an Indian brand, before he got his first car. And Bob actually had a bicycle, too.
  While Les was recuperating at home, Emily was upstairs in their house one day when Les called for her while he was in bed. Emily fell while coming down the stairs and went into labor. She went into convulsions. Aunt Clarice sent for the doctor and he arrived by horse and carriage. He threw the baby aside and said he had to save the mother. Aunt Clarice grabbed up the baby, bathed him and wrapped him in a blanket and worked over him. She took him to bed with her and kept him warm and massaged the life back into him. The doctor was shocked when he arrived the next morning and found the little pink baby."
  Emily almost lost her first child, Jack, and then a couple of years later, in San Francisco, she lost her second child. At that time Jack was 6 years old, Bill was 4, and Bonney was about 2. Emily was pregnant with Bob at the time. Bill had taken Bonney's kiddy-car and was riding it down the hill in front of their house. Bonney was running after him when an automobile rolled down the hill, jumped the curbing and ran over Bill. It happened right outside the Patterson's house next door.
  If the car had gone down another foot it would have hit a fig tree. If it had gone a couple of feet higher, it would have hit Bonney. The only thing Bonney remembers about the accident is that Mr. Gowans, a neighbor across the street, brought a big sack of sawdust from his basement and spread it on the sidewalk to cover the blood. Someone rushed Bill to French Hospital and he died lying on a table while waiting for a doctor to arrive.
  Les and Emily had a good marriage. He was a caring man who loved his family. He was a hard worker and a very stable influence. During the summers he ran the canteen at the Boy Scout camp at Cazadero in Sonoma County and also at Camp Lilienthal in Marin County. By the time they were old enough, Rich and Don joined the Cub Scouts, but by then Les was so busy making a living he didn't have time to devote to so many outside activities.
  Emily was a quiet, reserved person who was always doing something for the children. The laundry alone was a full Monday job with all the children's clothes and jeans and Les' five white overalls. She would haul all of the clothes out to the clothesline and hang them up in that foggy climate. They would be almost as damp when she took them down and re hung them in the basement where they sometimes had to hang a couple of days before they finally got dry.
  Emily made all Bonney's clothes, the boys' pajamas, boxer shorts and some shirts. She also helped at the school cafeteria at lunchtime. When she drove the car, she took the neighbors shopping and took Bonney and her friends to their dancing lessons on Clement Street.
  Emily also let the children help with redecorating. One time she took a chance and let Bob burn the paint off the toilet room walls. After it was all clean, the walls were painted.
  [Most of this information was provided to Doris Dickenson by Bonney (Dickenson) Arey in June 1997, with some additional information provided by Jack Hall Dickenson.]


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